How do you use the "Political Regions" tag?

[MNBlockHead]

How are you using the "Political Regions" tag in the Politcal:Region topic?

Do you . . .

(1) Use it to categorize by a general, generic unit?

Example: A kingdom would be tagged with "country"

(2) Use it to categorize with the specific form?

Example: A country whose ruler is a king or queen would be tagged as a "kingdom", a country governed by elected representatives would be a "republic", etc.

(3) Both 1 and 2.

Example: a country with a king receives at least two tags, "kingdom" and "country". You might also apply the tags "constitutional monarchy" and "sovereign state" if that level of specificity is helpful in your campaign.

I'm thinking about instituting a lazy man's version of #3, but worry about being consistent across topics.

The default tags seem to support #3 or, at least, are just provided as examples rather than an attempt to be a complete set of options. The default options are:

1. Colony
2. County
3. Empire
4. Nation
5. Other
6. Protectorate
7. Province
8. Quadrant
9. Sector
10. Sphere of Influence
11. State
12. Territory

"Kingdom" is conspicuously missing.

The default must be intended only as examples because it would be hard to take a consistent approach with this out-of-the-box list.

For those of you who do use the Political Regions tag, and who have customized it, what options are included in your list?

[kbs666]

I'm customizing the tag list to better fit a fantasy setting with medieval political divisions.

For kingdom I'm assuming that I'll know that a kingdom is also a country.

[Silveras]

I think "Nation" is largely considered a synonym for "Country".

An Empire usually has sovereignty over more than one Nation. A County is often used as a sub-division within another (such as a State, in the U.S.) without implying rulership by a Count... it could as easily be used to refer to the Parishes of Louisiana (which are, I believe, equivalent units of organization).

Province can be regarded as equivalent to State in some ways, but there may be legal differences that matter in some campaigns.. such as Commonwealths in the U.S. Not all 50 U.S. "states" are actually States... at least 2 (Massachusetts and Virginia) are legally Commonwealths. There may be no practical difference in most people's lives, but every once in a while it comes up in odd ways.

So what I see in the default list are entries that could fit into a hierarchical listing based on sub-divisions and purpose.

[Lexin]

Originally Posted by Silveras

I think "Nation" is largely considered a synonym for "Country".

I don't think that's strictly true, or not true everywhere. My nation (nationality) is of the United Kingdom, but the United Kingdom is made up of the country of England, the country of Scotland, the country (principality) of Wales and the province of Northern Ireland and several islands (Jersey, Guernsey, the Scilly Islands and the Isle of Man) whose strict relationship to the UK varies depending on which one you're talking about.

Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland or the various channel islands.

Never call a Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish person "English" and try to avoid calling them "British". They may never forgive you.

Which is to say: it can be more complicated than that.

[MNBlockHead]

In the United States, Nation is often used for "a tribe or federation of tribes" and is not necessarily tied to a geographic area. I like the InfoPlease definition of Nation: "A nation is a group of people who share the same culture, language, institutions, religion, and history—usually a group of people larger than a tribe or community. When a nation of people has an independent State of their own it is often called a nation-state. The Kurds are a nation without a State, but France, Germany, and Japan are examples of nation-states."

The Wikipedia article on nation goes into more detail on the controversies surrounding and ambiguity of the term nation.

It clearly is often used in a manner distinct from "country."

I'm thinking that the default is fine. I will likely hide "sector" and "quadrant" and I may add some specific divisions.

I don't need terms like "kingdom" if there is "country", instead, I may add a tag for type of government.